Help me out! I'm afraid I'll kill this gorgeous plant!

[deadlynightshade21]

My husband purchased me an orchid about a year ago. I ended up killing it. I begged and begged for him to buy me another one but he wouldn't. He finally did on my birthday this year and it was doing great. It got exposed to a little bit of sun today, but I'm not sure if the leaves are sunburned or if its because I wasn't watering it enough (I sort of am afraid to because I over-watered my last one).

Anyway, I don't want this plant to die... Does anyone know what caused the brown leaves like this? Only the right side has the browning. And what can I do to make sure it survives? I've read all sorts of things that talk about humidity (I live in the desert), and heat and lighting, but everything seems to be contradictory and some people tell me "They're the easiest plants ever, you just leave them alone". THAT didn't work for me either.


Help me !!! Its a Phal orchid, obviously. I've included a photo of the browning leaves and a photo of the blooms, just for the pretty factor.


Here are the browning leaves.

[Ross]

Welcome to the board! Your plant looks sunburned to me. Phals can take a fair amount of light, but full sun (especially in the south) is out. I like to describe it as dappled sun. In other words just spots of sunlight moving about on the leaves.

[Cookiemonster]

well my dear, it looks like your burnt the leaves, it happens those leaves will probably fall off, just keep it away from the sun--- i'd highly recommend an east facing window- phals dont like direct light, just dappled soft light but not dark either!

[betwixtimes]

If that's not an option for you, try purchasing a sheer curtain to block some of the light out and produce---dappled sun.

[cirillonb]

slightly off topic, but how much light do you(anyone) think a conventional window screen filters?
Nick

[deadlynightshade21]

Thanks everyone! I'll move it to an East facing window.

We have tinted windows to block some of the UV and porches that overhang, so it won't get a lot of light there. How do I know if thats too little?

[blackorchid]

I think it will be OK for Phalaenopsis. According to what I read, they only need about 1 hour of sunlight to keep the plant healthy, the rest of the day, you can put them in bright places with no direct sun, just diffused light. Btw, I'm curious about what are the papers doing in that pot. I think you're supposed to take them out....maybe.
And also check to make sure that those browning areas don't spread. If it does, it's not only sunburn, it's rot.

[betwixtimes]

Not that I can tell you with absolute certainty but your new orchid looks like a Harlequin Phalaenopsis.